AgDay Daily Recap -October 22, 2012

Good morning I’m Clinton Griffiths. One of the big analytical firms says expect more acres to go towards corn in 2013.

LSU COTTON HARVEST:

Louisiana's cotton harvest has had some delays. Cotton must be dry when picked, and rain has come just frequently enough to keep farmers out of the fields. LSU Agcenter reporter Tobie Blanchard has the details.

CROP WATCH:

While cotton harvest has slowed-up, some Louisiana farmers are also still cutting beans. And they're quite pleased with their corn as well. Mike Hoffman has details in this morning's cropwatch.

RURAL MAINSTREET INDEX:

After experiencing negative fallout from drought conditions, the rural mainstreet economy appears to be turning around. That's the bottom line of the 'rural mainstreet index" survey.

CATTLE ON FEED:

The USDA rolled out its latest cattle on feed numbers Friday. Analysts are calling it bullish as all categories came in below expectations...and shows a dramatic tightening of supplies.

MILK PRODUCTION:

USDA also released its monthly milk production figures which showed a slight decline from a year ago.
The amount of milk produced in the 23 major states during September totaled 14.7 billion pounds, down a half of 1% from September 2011. States all across the southwest United States - including California and Texas - saw about 4% declines. Production per cow was also off nationwide.

POTASH:

In agribusiness today - Canadian based Potash-Corp is lowering its expectations for 2012. The input maker says potash sales are down because of contract delays with buyers in China and India.
The company says it’s planning to shut down two production facilities for eight weeks beginning in mid-November.

UKRAINE WHEAT:

In other international news, the Ukrainian agricultural ministry says it’s about out of wheat to export.
Now there's speculation it stop selling grain or impose strict quotas. That would make it the first big producer to impose a trade restriction. The Ukraine is the world's ninth largest wheat exporter and much of its grain goes to the Middle East and Northern Africa.

BRAZIL CORN:

And the USDA says Brazil may have record corn production this year.
It's forecasting a record 74 million metric tons. That's up about 2% for the year. The reason for the increase...improved seed varieties, increased planted acres and a return to average rainfall.

ANALYSIS:

A record crop there could certainly impact corn prices here. Farm director Al Pell discusses U.S. corn exports in this morning's analysis.

MISSOURI APPLES:

Do you remember your first job as a kid?
Whether it was de-tasseling corn, or picking fruit, those labor intensive jobs are ones many of us will never forget. For one Missouri man, his childhood job is now part of his career, and that change hasn't come without challenges. AgDay’s Tyne Morgan has the story. It's a bittersweet weekend for the Christopherson’s... John got married on Saturday. So the Bachelors Orchard, is no more. Congratulations, John, from everyone here at AgDay.

FAT SHOT:

The CDC now predicts that 42% of Americans will be obese by the year 2030. That's double what it was a generation ago. In an effort to curb America’s weight growth, scientists at Ohio State have made a promising step. Clark Powell shows us how researchers in the lab are now able to melt away belly fat with a simple injection.

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